Oscar names 15 documentary finalists — 'Religulous' snubbed! Oh, heavens!
Well, there goes the theory that Hollywood is run by atheists hellbent on snuffing religion from the planet. Surprisingly, Bill Maher's "Religulous" isn't among the 15 finalists for best documentary at the Oscars.
Other notable snubs: "Dear Zachary," "Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson" and "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired."
Instead, the final 15 are:
"At the Death House Door"
"The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)"
"Blessed Is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh"
"Encounters at the End of the World"
"Fuel"
"The Garden"
"Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts"
"I.O.U.S.A."
"In a Dream"
"Made in America"
"Man on Wire"
"Pray the Devil Back to Hell"
"Standard Operating Procedure"
"They Killed Sister Dorothy"
"Trouble the Water"
(Photo "Religulous" courtesy Lionsgate via Bloomberg News)
And they wonder why Americans increasingly stop watching the Oscars
Posted by: Chad | February 22, 2009 at 07:38 PM
BOYCOTT THE OSCARS!!!!!!! WHAT THE HELLL!!!!!!!! RELIGULOUS IS SO IMPORTANT! BETTER THAN THOSE OTHER PEICES OF SHIT!
Posted by: Chad | February 22, 2009 at 07:20 PM
After seeing what happened with Prop 8 , my guess is that the academy was afraid of the crazies and decided to tuck it's tail between it's legs as to not upset the space god followers. Actually, I wonder how much influence the Scientologists have on the academy? Ridiculous
Posted by: Tyson | November 18, 2008 at 03:00 PM
Maybe he'll get one of those Pia Zadora Golden Globes. Still, I would have liked to see the Oscar audience hiss, hoot and gasp for Harrumph High Ground. No wonder no one wants to host this exercise.
Posted by: Wardell | November 18, 2008 at 02:54 PM
Wasn't Waltz With Bashir submitted as a documentary? Maybe not...
Posted by: Chuck | November 18, 2008 at 02:47 PM
Where is Religulous? God Knows!
Posted by: Guy Thompto | November 18, 2008 at 12:56 PM
The academy lost all credibility with me with "Brokeback Mountain" lost. It's made up of old-school thinkers that have the same backward thinking as conservative republicans.
Posted by: Robert Reincke | November 18, 2008 at 12:35 PM
Maybe it is God's way of telling Bill:
"Oh, really? Well buddy boy, let's see what you think about me now."
Wahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!
Posted by: Richard | November 18, 2008 at 11:56 AM
I have to agree with the Academy. Bill blew an easy opportunity to make a funny and entertaining film and still get his point across. I think we’ll have to wait until Matt Stone and Trey Parker or Michael Moore gets interested before we’ll have a definitive movie on the subject.
Posted by: David Theiss | November 18, 2008 at 11:52 AM
"How can the highest-grossing and most talked-about docu of the year not even be in the running?"
Are you kidding? This is the Oscars, not the Golden Globes. God help us if the highest grossing films or most controversial films start automatically being nominated on the basis of the magnitude of ticket sales or controversy. Just take a look at box office figures on any given weekend.
Honestly, I think it would be more of a ding on their credibility if it were nominated. Religulous is entertaining, would serve well as a 100 minute demonstration of the "straw-man" fallacy, but is not Academy Award material.
Posted by: Nathan | November 18, 2008 at 11:50 AM
One could hardly call Religuous a great documentary. Entertaining, yes, but hardly great. Bill Maher is much smarter than the documentary he made. Unfortunately, Religulous didn't live up to Bill Maher's potential.
Posted by: Canamar | November 18, 2008 at 11:32 AM
when you have such artistic works as 'trouble the water', 'encounters at the end of the world' and 'man on wire' i really don't care about the 'religious' snub.
but... if one of these films were snubbed, then i could agree about the academy's wrong taste.
till then...
GO HERZOG!!!
Posted by: carol | November 18, 2008 at 09:31 AM
Man on Wire is, according to Rotten Tomatoes, the greatest film of all time.
Posted by: AJ | November 18, 2008 at 08:09 AM
Any list that excises BOTH "Dear Zachary" and "Religulous" is a joke. The docu branch clearly has no credibility. And, frankly, the rest of the Academy isn't much better.
Posted by: Craig | November 18, 2008 at 06:34 AM
And they wonder why Americans increasingly stop watching the Oscars.
Posted by: Jack Sparrow | November 17, 2008 at 09:37 PM
What?! How can the highest-grossing and most talked-about docu of the year not even be in the running???? What's going on here?
Posted by: Marcus Dixon | November 17, 2008 at 07:48 PM
Bill Maher just can't get any kudos respect. Some 21 Emmy noms (!) with no wins, a few Grammy nominations and no wins, and now he's skunked out of a possible Oscar nom.
Posted by: Turtle | November 17, 2008 at 07:01 PM
I'm shocked. But they also snubbed Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed.
Posted by: Big Shaker | November 17, 2008 at 06:16 PM